The present invention relates to candles that dispense an air treatment chemical from a lid. More particularly, the invention relates to structures associated with the lid to facilitate such dispensing.
A variety of devices are known for dispensing volatilizable air treatment chemicals. Such air treatment chemicals may be air scents or deodorizers (e.g., fragrances or masks), pest control materials (e.g., insecticides, insect repellants, or insect growth control regulators), allergen control ingredients, disinfectants, sanitizers or other materials.
In some of these devices the air treatment chemical is mixed with a candle wax and is dispensed during the burning process, the chemical usually being released primarily from the heated wax surrounding the wick rather than from the wax as it combusts. While this is a common technique for dispensing a variety of fragrances, typically it has been less successful for the dispensing of pest control materials.
There has been a variety of attempts to improve candle burning efficiency by placing a cover over the candle. For example, see U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,585,510, 6,589,047, and 6,663,384. The disclosures of these patents and of all other publications referred to herein are incorporated herein by reference as if fully set forth herein. These devices, however, were focused on improving candle burning efficiency in a deep-cup type candle, rather than distributing air treatment chemicals from sources other than the wax.
Many other attempts have been made to use the heat from a candle or analogous device to distribute air treatment chemicals, such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,742,342, 4,781,895, 6,482,365, 6,503,459, and 7,138,130. However, these devices can require relatively expensive constructions to achieve their results, and/or incorporate structures that do not provide the flexibility either to distribute the air treatment chemical when the candle is on, or not to distribute the air treatment chemical even when the candle is combusting.
Other devices for using candles or similar structures to dispense volatiles are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,279,118, 6,033,212, 6,309,986, 6,337,080 and 6,663,838. Each has its own limitations.
Thus, there is a need for improved candle assemblies, particularly where the candle can be readily converted from normal operation to operation where the candle also dispenses an air treatment chemical.